Kebabs, Koran and kinship…….give way for the Mogul!
posted on Monday, August 25, 2008 11:34 AM
Author: Sanjay Kumar, Brighton
Calcutta is home to a very large Muslim community and India has the one of the largest Muslim population in the world.
The history of the ‘bearded ones’ in Hindu India is a long, colourful and aromatic story. New foods and flavours travelled on the dastar khawan along the well known spice routes to the Indian subcontinent with the Muslim invaders and conquerors from the Central Asian kingdoms.
The end of the twelfth century was the beginning of a culinary cross current which, over the next five hundred years in India saw the adoption of new adab qaidas (manners and mores) and different dastoors (conventional customs).
The Islamic invaders brought their rich kingkhabs (brocades) and makhmul (velvet), tailored coats and pantaloons as well as the taste for meats, coffee, aromatic spices and oil essences.
The Moguls introduced numerous ingredients from other parts of their vast empires and north western frontiers. Long grain rice from Peshawar, apple and apricots from Kashmir, grapes and melons were farmed extensively in Bengal.


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